Donald Trump on Trial: What to Expect

To the Editor:

Re “Trump’s Manhattan Criminal Trial Begins With Jury Selection” (live updates, nytimes.com, April 15):

Monday is a historic day, as a former United States president goes on trial on charges of falsifying business documents to cover up hush money payments. This is the first time a former president has been tried in criminal court.

But more than the historical significance of the trial, this is a test of our democracy and the rule of law. What’s at stake here is not just whether or not the disgraced former president is guilty, but whether he is above the law.

There is clear and compelling evidence showing that Donald Trump committed the crimes he is charged with, but the question is will a jury of his peers agree to hold him accountable for those crimes.

Should the jury reach the correct verdict, the “Teflon Don” could face prison time. An orange jumpsuit is just what this writer hopes to see.

Henry A. Lowenstein
New York

To the Editor:

There is a danger facing the prosecutors in the current New York criminal trial against Donald Trump that reflects a similar danger that existed for the prosecutors who failed to successfully prove the murder case against O.J. Simpson 30 years ago. That danger is the prejudice that some jurors may have about factors having nothing to do with the evidence presented in the case.

In the Simpson trial the distrust of the Los Angeles Police Department seemed to play a significant role in explaining the jurors’ decision in a case that seemed to offer overwhelming evidence warranting a guilty verdict. Similarly in the Trump case, the prospect of a single juror who has a strong political bias in favor of Mr. Trump raises the possibility of a hung jury in spite of what seems likely to be solid evidence that will presented against him.